Jawn-Luc Godard

That's all, folks! Another great year taking part in this little project, now to spend the next eleven months figuring out what I'm doing next year!

#MWE Day 28: Kamaiyah - A Good Night in the Ghetto

An apt record to close out on: it feels so exuberant and triumphant that you can almost miss the more serious things Kamaiyah is saying when she isn't being overt. So smooth and effortless itself that it's hard to believe she was only 20!

#MWE Day 27: Sibylle Baier - Colour Green

I was charmed by how off the cuff this album felt to me. I know these are mostly home recordings, but some songs felt a bit like they were being written in the moment. Reminded me a lot of Connie Converse, which is never a bad thing in my book!

#MWE Day 26: Aaliyah - Aaliyah

More than anything I find myself captivated by Aaliyah as a vocalist. Erika de Casier is someone who I feel takes so much inspiration from her, but what really stood out is how in command she is even on the songs that sound most dated. A real revelation on that front!

Hey man the good news is that Warner kills every company that buys it

And if you complain ONCE more???

DANNY AINGE TO KEYONTE GEORGE JUST BEFORE PUSHING HIM DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS: Sorry kid, they won't let me bench you with a fake injury anymore. You'll understand one day.

#MWE Day 25: HAIM - Days Are Gone

Listening to this, I kinda get why HAIM left a sour taste in some people's mouths when they first came up: surely hearing a debut this assured would breed resentment! These are sturdy pop songs delivered near-perfectly, and you don't need a lot more than that.

#MWE Day 24: Susanne Sundfør - Music for People in Trouble

I found it maybe a little samey in terms of its sound, but hey, it plays that one note really, REALLY well. Didn't have any expectations going in, but it's very solidly in my wheelhouse, so I can see it growing more on repeat listens.

#MWE Day 23: Vashti Bunyan - Just Another Diamond Day

An all-timer in terms of the sheer sense of "WOW, I'm an idiot for not listening to this sooner" I felt from the first track. Picture perfect, an instant member of the "play me if you're having a bad day" pantheon. Simply marvelous!

#MWE Day 22: Garbage - Version 2.0

At times, it sounds VERY '90s in a way that wasn't always flattering, but it'd take more than slightly chintzy production to stop songs this sharp and hooky, especially when Shirley Manson is the one singing them. Not perfect, but a total blast from end to end.

would anyone like to discuss mlb trade rumors

#MWE Day 21: Grouper - The Man Who Died in His Boat

A lot less immediate than Dead Deer, which already wasn't super welcoming, but I could feel myself coming around to it as the album wound on. Hard to wrap your arms around, but truly enchanting once you find your way onto its wavelength.

Unique Forms of Continuity in Space, by Umberto Boccioni, 1913, (cast 1931 or 1934), 📸 by Wang Zhao

#MWE Day 20: Dusty Springfield - Dusty in Memphis

A bit shocked at how emphatically this didn't land with me. It sounds gorgeous and Dusty's obviously a great singer, but beyond the big hits I just didn't feel much of anything, which is an unpardonable sin if you're working in this genre. A whiff.

#MWE Day 19: Björk - Post

Trying to recall the last time an album had me so exhilaratingly lost for where it'd be going from track to track on first listen like Post did and drawing a blank. Maybe Atrocity Exhibition? A little terrifying, a little beautiful, just like all the best art should be.

#MWE Day 18: Janet Jackson - Control

It's fascinating how the "sound of the future" from 40 years ago still kinda, sorta sounds like the future. The production didn't feel dated at all when I feared it might, and Janet is just phenomenal. Don't think anything will top it for sheer FUN this month!

#MWE Day 17: Linda Martell - Color Me Country

It's difficult to listen to this record - Martell's only album - without wondering what more she could have done if she had a fair shake. It's not perfect, but the highlights are marvelous and Martell is SO charming, so I'm glad we at least have this.

RIP Robert Duvall I loved how totally bald you were at all times

#MWE Day 16: Cat Power - What Would the Community Think

Definitely an album I need more time with. It felt even more intense than Moon Pix, and its range of styles is probably a bit wider, but it didn't feel quite as focused on first blush. Lots that's striking; just as much I'm still turning over.

#MWE Day 15: Julee Cruise - Floating Into the Night

Hard to imagine listening to this album with the sun out. Strange and beguiling (no surprise there) and, underneath it all, almost too romantic to bear. Constantly surprising and delightful, one of the big surprise winners of the month for me!

A fabricated statement from Nintendo of America's Twitter account addressing a fictitious scenario in which the Earth's oxygen supply is presumed to be depleting at a rapid pace, leaving humanity with mere days to live. "This is Miyamoto. On behalf of everyone who is employed at Nintendo Co. LTD and its subsidiaries, we deeply mourn the countless human lives which will be lost due to the depletion of the global oxygen supply. To anyone who has ever played one of our games, we are eternally grateful to have created long-lasting fun and memories for you. To ease the suffering of families and children across the world, the Mario Kart World game for the Nintendo Switch 2 system will be available as a free download on Nintendo eShop for the foreseeable future. We hope this small gesture of kindness will ease the pain as humanity prepares for a worst-case scenario." The statement is distastefully plastered with logos for Nintendo and Nintendo Switch 2, as well as with a render of Mario from Mario Kart World.

A fabricated Twitter thread responding to the fabricated Nintendo statement. John Default Profile Picture: "No one read this statement and thought it was distasteful? Why did Miyamoto think this would help anyone?" NintenDeen: "Simple: Nintendo is so depraved that they'd exploit a global crisis to boost the player count of the failed Mario Kart World and force consumers back into the Switch 2 ecosystem to boost sales and player numbers."

A fabricated Twitter thread responding to the fabricated Nintendo statement. PlayStation Nation: "What the fuck are you doing falsely advertising sales during these trying times? I went to the website and Mario Kart World is still selling for $80 USD." Kremling Kevin: "If you actually read the statement, it clearly says the discount is available on Nintendo eShop. Meaning the application on the Switch 2 itself, not the web browser version." PlayStation Nation: "Point still stands."

A fabricated Tweet responding to the fabricated Nintendo statement. Isaboner: "Nothing for Switch 1 owners?"

Had a dream that there was global panic about the world running out of oxygen, Nintendo was the only video game company to make a statement about it, and the internet collectively spent its final hours on Earth debating whether Nintendo was being genuine or not

#MWE Day 14: Courtney Barnett - The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas

It's nice to have a reminder of why I was all-in on Courtney a decade(!) ago. It's ramshackle in the way all her best work is - not perfect, but "Avant Gardner" and "History Eraser" alone make a strong case for its greatness.

#MWE Day 13: Sinéad O'Connor - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got

Takes a tiny bit to get going, but once it's out of the blocks, it's perfect. Is there a better three track run from "The Emperor's New Clothes" to "Nothing Compares 2 U"...on any album? By anyone? Ever? "Stunning" feels inadequate.

every professional hockey player is named Corkles McMahon or Jaarjumi Järviinensøn

Three dollars and six dimes? In this eco- (a large cane yanks me offstage)

#MWE Day 12: Aimee Mann - I'm With Stupid

Mann has all the hallmarks of an artist I should adore and yet, between this and Bachelor No. 2, it hasn't quite clicked. I just find it too inconsistent: I loved the more upbeat songs, but too many of the slower ones bled my interest dry. Frustrating.

#MWE Day 11: Etta James - At Last!

Christ, but James sings the hell out of these songs, doesn't she? This is the oldest album on my list, and it sometimes sounds its age, but her remarkable voice is the constant, elevating the weaker songs and turning the great ones into something transcendent.

YOU - “I approve of this, very futuristic.” (Tap on the girls kissing.)